Hope for Peter—and Us

“And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And Peter went out, and wept bitterly” (Luke 22:61-62).

That was the turning point for Peter. Christ had said to him: “Thou canst not follow me now” (John 13:36). Peter was not fit to follow Christ, because he had not been brought to an end of himself. But when he went out and wept bitterly, then came the great change. 

I thank God for Peter. When we look at his character, so full of failures, and at what Christ made him by the power of the Holy Spirit, there is hope for every one of us. There are four points about Peter from which we can learn.

Peter was a man of absolute surrender; he gave up all to follow Jesus. Christ called Peter to forsake his nets, and follow Him. Peter did it at once, and he afterward could say rightly to the Lord: “We have forsaken all, and followed thee” (Matthew 19:27).

Peter was also a man of ready obedience. You remember Christ said to him, “Launch out into the deep, and let down the net.” Peter the fisherman knew there were no fish there, for they had been toiling all night and had caught nothing; but he said: “At thy word I will let down the net” (Luke 5:4-5). 

Also, he was a man of great faith. When he saw Christ walking on the sea, he said: “Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee” (Matthew 14:28); and at the voice of Christ he stepped out of the boat and walked on the water.

And Peter was a man of spiritual insight. When Christ asked the disciples: “Whom do ye say that I am?” Peter answered: “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Christ said: “Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona; for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 16:17). 

How was it that Peter, the carnal, self-willed Peter, became a man of Pentecost and the writer of two epistles? It was because Christ had him in His charge, Christ watched over him and Christ taught and blessed him. In His suffering Christ did not forget him, but turned round and looked on him, and “Peter went out and wept bitterly.” And the Christ who led Peter to Pentecost is waiting today to take charge of every heart that is willing to surrender itself to Him. 

Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, King James Version.

Adapted from Absolute Surrender by Andrew Murray. Work is in the Public Domain.

Andrew Murray (1828-1917) was a pastor in the Dutch Reformed church and a prolific author whose more than 240 books focused on personal holiness, prayer and revival.